236
14 CFR Ch. I (1–1–24 Edition)
§ 121.631
procedures and responsibilities. A pre-
takeoff check is a check of the air-
craft’s wings or representative aircraft
surfaces for frost, ice, or snow within
the aircraft’s holdover time. A pre-
takeoff contamination check is a check
to make sure the wings, control sur-
faces, and other critical surfaces, as de-
fined in the certificate holder’s pro-
gram, are free of frost, ice, and snow. It
must be conducted within five minutes
prior to beginning take off. This check
must be accomplished from outside the
aircraft unless the program specifies
otherwise.
(d) A certificate holder may continue
to operate under this section without a
program as required in paragraph (c) of
this section, if it includes in its oper-
ations specifications a requirement
that, any time conditions are such that
frost, ice, or snow may reasonably be
expected to adhere to the aircraft, no
aircraft will take off unless it has been
checked to ensure that the wings, con-
trol surfaces, and other critical sur-
faces are free of frost, ice, and snow.
The check must occur within five min-
utes prior to beginning takeoff. This
check must be accomplished from out-
side the aircraft.
[Doc. No. 6258, 29 FR 19222, Dec. 31, 1964, as
amended by Amdt. 121–231, 57 FR 44942, Sept.
29, 1992; Amdt. 121–253, 61 FR 2615, Jan. 26,
1996]
§ 121.631 Original dispatch or flight re-
lease, redispatch or amendment of
dispatch or flight release.
(a) A certificate holder may specify
any regular, provisional, or refueling
airport, authorized for the type of air-
craft, as a destination for the purpose
of original dispatch or release.
(b) No person may allow a flight to
continue to an airport to which it has
been dispatched or released unless the
weather conditions at an alternate air-
port that was specified in the dispatch
or flight release are forecast to be at or
above the alternate minimums speci-
fied in the operations specifications for
that airport at the time the aircraft
would arrive at the alternate airport.
However, the dispatch or flight release
may be amended en route to include
any alternate airport that is within the
fuel range of the aircraft as specified in
§§ 121.639 through 121.647.
(c) No person may allow a flight to
continue beyond the ETOPS Entry
Point unless—
(1) Except as provided in paragraph
(d) of this section, the weather condi-
tions at each ETOPS Alternate Airport
required by § 121.624 are forecast to be
at or above the operating minima for
that airport in the certificate holder’s
operations specifications when it
might be used (from the earliest to the
latest possible landing time); and
(2) All ETOPS Alternate Airports
within the authorized ETOPS max-
imum diversion time are reviewed and
the flight crew advised of any changes
in conditions that have occurred since
dispatch.
(d) If paragraph (c)(1) of this section
cannot be met for a specific airport,
the dispatch or flight release may be
amended to add an ETOPS Alternate
Airport within the maximum ETOPS
diversion time that could be authorized
for that flight with weather conditions
at or above operating minima.
(e) Before the ETOPS Entry Point,
the pilot in command for a supple-
mental operator or a dispatcher for a
flag operator must use company com-
munications to update the flight plan
if needed because of a re-evaluation of
aircraft system capabilities.
(f) No person may change an original
destination or alternate airport that is
specified in the original dispatch or
flight release to another airport while
the aircraft is en route unless the other
airport is authorized for that type of
aircraft and the appropriate require-
ments of §§ 121.593 through 121.661 and
121.173 are met at the time of redis-
patch or amendment of the flight re-
lease.
(g) Each person who amends a dis-
patch or flight release en route shall
record that amendment.
[Doc. No. 628, 29 FR 19222, Dec. 31, 1964, as
amended by Amdt. 121–65, 35 FR 12709, Aug.
11, 1970; Amdt. 121–329, 72 FR 1881, Jan. 16,
2007]
§ 121.633 Considering time-limited sys-
tems in planning ETOPS alternates.
(a) For ETOPS up to and including
180 minutes, no person may list an air-
port as an ETOPS Alternate Airport in
a dispatch or flight release if the time
